Niomi Smart #3 Trouble in paradise, did Joey flee? We don't know yet but await the fennel tea!

[bobby768]

Agree it looks candid. Also, she seems to be in phase two of the breakup - getting drunk, seeing as many friends as possible, keeping busy and focusing on the positives. I definitely recognise my post-breakup self in her. I don't think it's fake, I think it's what a lot of people do to try and feel happy and connected again. Sometimes that means you go a little over the top with showcasing how fun and exciting those things are, but it is pretty normal behaviour.

although it's candid as in not for the camera i still feel like this is her being fake and not dealing with the emotions yet. so this was phase one for me personally, for the first couple months after a four year relationship i was out a lot even on dating apps, but then when i let it sink in i actually isolated myself and literally cried for 2 years (lol) till i got over it.
i feel like niomi is pretty similar cause i don't know if you guys remember but that's what she did with marcus. i know there's this narrative that she was fine after but i think she pretended she was fine and then you could see how sad she was when she was moving into her notting hill flat and then she didn't date for like a year!

 

[janedowe]

I totally agree with all the comments that moving in with Freddie spelled catastrophe from day one. Her condescending comment about Freddie ‘being grateful’ was unreal. Looking back on the old video where we see the flat for the first time, I noticed that the shelves she ‘restyles’ to her taste originally had a record player and a stack of records on it. The player was open so looked like it got use. Am I right in thinking that when she restyled it, there was no record player in sight? (I can’t remember which that video was but I don’t have a recollection of it....) I’d be beyond fuming if I was Freddie!!

 

[bobby768]

Wow that reply about Freddie was really rude and condescending. She could have ignored it like any other negative comment she gets. Just from that reply it’s painfully obvious she was annoyed about it. I don’t think their new living arrangement was the reason they broke up, but definitely a big factor and maybe the straw that broke the camel’s back, as they say.

Saw these replies as well. Can’t believe this was just a month ago.

yeah the freddie thing definitely caused tension but guys come on there were obviously issues beforehand i really agree with it being 'the straw that broke the camel's back'
it was obviously just ANOTHER way she was being controlling and entitled and joe maybe had enough, esp cause he had a brother to back up his perspective which he did not have during lockdown cause they were isolated and men don't usually confide in mates or whatever

 

[lilamay]

I totally agree with all the comments that moving in with Freddie spelled catastrophe from day one. Her condescending comment about Freddie ‘being grateful’ was unreal. Looking back on the old video where we see the flat for the first time, I noticed that the shelves she ‘restyles’ to her taste originally had a record player and a stack of records on it. The player was open so looked like it got use. Am I right in thinking that when she restyled it, there was no record player in sight? (I can’t remember which that video was but I don’t have a recollection of it....) I’d be beyond fuming if I was Freddie!!

You're right!

Shelves when she'd just moved in:

And when she's done some 'rearranging'...

Oh look it's the banana hanger she said was 'the best thing Joe had ever bought her'

 

[Noodles86]

You're right!

Shelves when she'd just moved in:

View attachment 222338

And when she's done some 'rearranging'...

View attachment 222341

Oh look it's the banana hanger she said was 'the best thing Joe had ever bought her'

that’s a photo of her and Freddie? she must have been on good terms with him up until recently then

 

[Rosie878]

When you get engaged it is normal to start thinking about the future - wedding, buying a house, kids...to go from engagement and wedding planning to moving in with you’re fiancés brother must have felt like a bit of a comedown so I do feel for her in that regard. They obviously weren’t on the same page about what the engagement meant for them in the short to medium term.

also, Niomi’s really young I know but if a backdrop to her childhood has been her mums fertility issues I can see why she may feel in a hurry to settle down and try get pregnant before 30. What you witness growing up has a huge impact on your beliefs. I’m sure she will be absolutely fine, as most women tend to be, whether she has a family imminently or in her late 30’s but I can understand her feelings if she does feel in a hurry.

 

[lilamay]

that’s a photo of her and Freddie? she must have been on good terms with him up until recently then

They definitely used to get on. I remember this video where she goes Christmas tree shopping with him. He appears from about 5:50.
I think that photo is from the day of this video though, so it is kind of old - this was Christmas 2018.




From the snippets I've seen of him in her videos, and from his instagram, Freddie seems to have far more personality and charisma than Joe. But maybe he wasn't so passive and wouldn't have just stayed silent when she wanted to exert control over everything.

 

[hnoz]

Niomi post breakup is going to be even more unbearable imo. So many early morning runs and yoga sessions, followed by making a smoothie or porridge and complaining about her busy busy days.

 

[emm]

You're right!

Shelves when she'd just moved in:

View attachment 222338

And when she's done some 'rearranging'...

View attachment 222341

Oh look it's the banana hanger she said was 'the best thing Joe had ever bought her'

her saying that was probably thr funniest thing ive seen in her vlogs

 

[janedowe]

Oh look it's the banana hanger she said was 'the best thing Joe had ever bought her'

We should have known then that a break was imminent!

 

[lilamay]

She's just followed Chidera Eggerue 'Author of WHAT A TIME TO BE ALONE (2018) and HOW TO GET OVER A BOY (2020)'

They sound like the perfect books for her... the speed she reads at though

 

[doddie.windler]

The apartment they moved into with Freddie really was not big enough. Of course it was still a nice apartment, but for three (presumably) wealthy fully grown adults, including a couple, to only have one sofa and a tiny kitchen, that never would have worked. Niomi and Joe’s bedroom was also very small and would likely drive them crazy with all their stuff. Absolutely baffling that this was the plan for the next 1-2 years. If Joe pushed for it so that he didn’t have to commit to a lease before he figured out what he wanted, I just can’t believe Niomi was happy with it or didn’t see the reasons. I also felt like her taking over all the kitchen shelves with her jarred lentils would have driven Freddie up the wall, having to take part in decanting his shopping into the appropriate jar!

The discussions here regarding Joe realising quite how disordered Niomi’s diet was in lock down reminds me of the “cool girl” monologue in Gone Girl. How all men want a girl to LOOK like Niomi, but also want them to drink beer and scarf down hot dogs and pizzas. The girl will try to pretend to the man that this is how she is, but then when the relationship becomes more serious (moving in together/covid) the man realises that it was all a facade and she does in fact have to restrict and diet to maintain being skinny. The women then becomes less cool and appealing to the man, and he is drawn in by the prospect of a new “cool girl” who is also just pretending and the cycle restarts.

 

[Ramster93]

Yeah, you are right - the key here is that they really can afford NOT to live like that. So why would they? If I was rich I'm pretty sure I wouldn't bother flat sharing. Maybe Joe has too much pride and really didn't want to feel that he was living off Niomi. And most importantly, probably didn't want to be legally bound to a flat with her for another year or so!

This is exactly it I think! The London rental market has crashed anyway, my partner and I managed to snag a big 1 bed with a private garden in Chelsea (a 10 min walk from Fulham, where Joe's flat is) for £1600 a month during the pandemic which the previous tenant was paying £1900+. £1600 a month for Nimbobs and Joeyyyy is surely nothing. I'm sure he worded it as "it'd be great to save the money and it's my flat anyway, Freddie's OK with it!" and she was like "OK" without realising that not signing their own lease was part of his doubts about them.

 

[milanolo]

I at the same time feel for Freddie but weirdly can also relate to her with this (to some extent). If Joe said they will live in his apartment, he probably said she can move things around to make her feel homey. I mean, if someone would tell me I will live somewhere for the next year (or maybe even two), I would want the space to feel like at home - and not just my bedroom. Not to the extreme to move so many things around the first day where I would get there, but adding a few of my things here and there would feel a bit more comforting - obviously by asking first, if I can rearrange some things. I still think that the biggest reason why they actually exploded is the fact that they moved in with Freddie. And everything that was building up behind their walls just started to crumble down, and Joe took the quick escape when he got the "chance".

While I agree that it's only normal to want to add some personal touches to a home, I think it's the way she went about it that has rubbed everyone the wrong way. I think we can all agree that after she got the engagement ring, she became incredibly smug and arrogant that she was now (future) Mrs. Woodward and her condescending remark about how Freddie should be "grateful" is a clear indication of this. In that flat tour, when she pans around the living room, you can actually hear the distaste rolling off her tongue when she gestures to Freddie's artwork and calls the decor 'boyish'. You can also hear how annoyed she is that the only picture she could add at the point was the one on the adjacent wall. She also sounds really sulky that the only thing she could add so far were her plants (that were taking up so much unnecessary space IMO). Oh and not to mention, she was so proud of her spice wall but I'd be bloody annoyed as hell if I was Freddie and came home to a large rack of crap above my sink.

During the whole tour video, there was a clear underlying tone of insolence and annoyance in her voice. You just know that she was trying to push all her vegan yoga fennel tea deco into the apartment and eventually, shove Freddie out. I hate to be pedantic but at that point they weren't even married yet, it was highly egotistical and entitled of her to assume that she had the right to take over the flat and make everything hers. Freddie has as much right to live there as she does.

 

[janedowe]

In her break up video, she says this has been ‘a whole healing and learning process’
Her choice of the word learning is interesting to me. Is this her learning about what a dick she’s been? Learning about how Joe has felt over the last however long? Learning that people will snap if you push them enough? Learning sounds very much like it could be an acknowledgement of her mistakes.

 

[Caramel Latte]

In her break up video, she says this has been ‘a while healing and learning process’
Her choice of the word learning is interesting to me. Is this her learning about what a dick she’s been? Learning about how Joe has felt over the last however long? Learning that people will snap if you push them enough? Learning sounds very much like it could be an acknowledgement of her mistakes.

I don't think she's acknowledging her mistakes, wish she had that level of self awareness but it's something that many influencers lack. It's evident in her video about how she's not like all those greedy non ethical influencers

 

[milanolo]

In her break up video, she says this has been ‘a while healing and learning process’
Her choice of the word learning is interesting to me. Is this her learning about what a dick she’s been? Learning about how Joe has felt over the last however long? Learning that people will snap if you push them enough? Learning sounds very much like it could be an acknowledgement of her mistakes.

Lol tbh I honestly doubt it, a lot of people tend to place the blame on others rather than themselves. I think learning probably refers to her learning that "people will hurt her but she will rise above the ashes like a phoenix rising" or whatever pretentious nonsense those books are "teaching" her about.

 

[janethevirgin]

Interesting insight. I could see this if he agreed to go to Dubai without talking to her about it first. It's beautiful and they'd have a great time there but not anywhere near as 'on brand' for Niomi as India, also as you say she has a skin care launch pending.

Honestly, I'm from Dubai and there's a whole subsection of the city that's very on-brand for Niomi. Rich white people in expensive villas by the beach that are hyper-consumers and greenwash everything. Lots of 'sustainable' cafes too lmao. But definitely not the best timing for her, career-wise.

 

[slothella22]

Maybe they moved in with Freddie because all their stuff was still in India and they wanted to take their time finding somewhere suitable. Looking for a flat doesn't happen overnight. At least by being in Freddie's house they were back in London which was suitable for Niomi's work in the interim period.

 

[CheshireLove]

I think the possible deterioration in the relationship with Freddie must have been sad too. When Joe was away during vlogmas, Niomi and Freddie met up together for coffee. I think she definitely saw him as a brother which must have been nice for her.